Decoy Wood

F

Fred C

New member
I have a few questions about getting from a tree to a roughed out decoy but I will start with an introduction. I have been a lurker here for many years, I found this site my junior year of college (2002) and it is almost a daily visit for me. This isn't my first post but I would venture to guess that my post count is under 5. I don't have the kind of experience with boat building and decoy carving that most of the guys on here do, but I do share the love of waterfolwing. Thanks to this site I found the Gordon McQuary triology ( Christmas present from my wife last year!), by the time I finish reading them I just start right back at the beginning and haven't got tired of them yet! Between Hizzoner talking about how much better old wooden decoys are and the awesome decoys I see on this site, in addition to being within a month of closing on a house with a shop (rental houses and being a tinkerer like me don't go hand in hand) I am ready to try my hand at making some decoys with soul. I live in Northwest Missouri and have come across the opportunity to obtain some Linden (basswood) trees. From what I can gather basswood is the premium wood for carving heads because it carves easily but is still fairly strong. I assume that most people only use it for heads because it is too expensive to make the whole block from it? The real good luck story is that my father in law has a portable homeowner size sawmill that I can use. So I am thinking that I could make whole decoys out of these free for the taking trees(3). Are there any reasons not to make a solid basswood decoy (plan to hunt these in the Missouri river for divers, want a good riding decoy) if cost of the stock is not an issue? Should I let the logs dry with the bark on and ends painted before squaring them up or can I run them through the sawmill and then let the squared timber dry? I found another free tree a long way from the sawmill, could a person cut it up into about 24" long blocks ( so that they can be man handled into a pickup) and left to dry with bark on? I have a friend with access to a moisture gauge, how dry does the wood need to be before I can start carving? I would really like to hunt over my own homemade decoys this fall but I have a funny feeling that that option is out. Thanks in advance, I am looking forward to finally having something to contribute to this great site.

Fred
 
It's great to hear that you want to get into carving. It is a lot of fun. I've made a few decoys with basswood heads and bodies and I believe that they are a little heavier than decoys made with pine or cedar bodies. I've blocked up some basswood and cedar logs with a chainsaw and drying/checking has always been an issue. I think that if you cut a raw log into 24" lengths you will loose a lot to checking. I've never had access to a portable mill so I don't have much more to add. I bet others on this site have had experience with them and will be able to give you more advice. If the lumber you cut isn't dry in time for this year's carving, perhaps you can buy a small quantity of wood to get started with this year. Then use your home-milled stuff next year after it's had a chance to dry. Good luck with the carving and on moving into your new house (it's great to have your own shop). Be sure to fill us in on your carving progress.
 
Hi Fred

Lots of questions...I'll try to address as many as I can...

Basswood is fine for bodies and heads, but as John says, it is a bit heavier, but if you hollow it, that won't be a big deal. It takes better detail for fancy decoys, but is a bit harder than cedar to carve and sand...but free is free, and I wouldn't turn it away.

With your father in law's mill, I'd make 3 inch thick stock for heads. For bodies, you could cut it anywhere from 3-5 inch thick depending on species you want to carve and use of and thickness of a bottom board.

Typical rule of thumb is 1 year of air drying per inch of thickness...but I don't know a single carver who plans that far out. If you cut and milled it this year, and stored it out of the weather and stickered, you could likely carve it next summer, especially if you plan on hollowing it (this helps to limit checking as well as lighten the load.

I'd try to keep the logs as long as you can, as you can plan on loosing 6-10 inches to checking, so if you cut them 24 inches, you may be lucky to get a teal out of the middle.

Fire away with any more questions,

Chuck
 
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Fred,

I'd advise you to be talking to someone in the lumber business for the real skinny.
It's going to be a while before that wood is useable. Here's a link that may give you an idea of what you'd need to do & consider:

http://owic.oregonstate.edu/pubs/EM8612.pdf

If you have the capability to both store and air dry it, it will be a good resource for the future. In fact it may be a GREAT thing given the time you'll put in finding your way around with carving & painting.

However, my advice if you are looking to get started, is to purchase the wood or cork you'll need in order to hop on the learning curve now. Can't go wrong with a guy like Willy - not only from the standpoint of quality materials, but sound advice on what you'll need (...and more importantly: what you don't need), and a "phone a friend" option when you have questions. A word of caution; cutting corners to save a few bucks by doing things like carving home despot "toobas" is going to frustrate you and will not be worth it in the long run. (Like BB King said: "If you wanna have some fun you got to spend some cash - and let the good times roll......")

 
Thank you John, Chuck and Bob! Your answers really helped me out, the tree that is not near the mill is going to be cut this afternoon after work and I will be sure cut them as long as the two of us can handle instead of just 24". It is encouraging to know that the basswood is going to work. I searched the old posts about Eastern Red Cedar and from what I can gather it is not much of a decoy wood. That is too bad because I could get more of it than a guy could ever carve. I assume that all this white cedar that all the carvers use is an Eastern and Northern US tree? The plan at this point is to make mostly bluebills and some cans, but I can see some buffies and ringnecks in the future. These are going to be real simple gunners, that is what I need and you half to crawl before you can walk! I have a book of patterns by Hillman, they are Jersey style patterns. The one thing that I plan to modify already is the side pockets, my book doesn't put them in but I love the look of carved side pockets and think that they have to be more realistic in the way they cast shadows and such. I am not completely sold on the patterns that I have, I think I want bigger blocks and they seem to be just about lifesized. Anyway, thanks again for your input!
 
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Don't overlook another wood you probably have tons of by you is cottonwood. Once dried it is extremely light and works and sands well.

The other thing to think about is find someone locally that has a kiln. You can get wood dried fairly reasonable (about .30 cents per bd/ft here), and it won't take nearly as long to dry. Definatlely try to keep your lengths at least 8' long though. It will be alot easier to saw and won't have as much waste from checking.
 
Fred I use Missouri bass all the time. Missouri bass usually has lots of spalting (black veins running through it) this can cause weak points in the wood. You have a carver just south of you in Karney (Tom modin) I'm over in Boonville. I know Tom tries to have a carving night a couple times a month in the summer so come on down when he posts up.
 
Check out this back issue of Wildfowl Carving Magazine:
Spring 1996 , Volume 12, Issue 1
Home Drying, Frank and Carol Werner

I think it is still available as a back issue.

Lots of information on drying your own wood in decoy size blocks rather than simply 2-3" thick boards. I have the issue and have used the info to dry 5" thick pine with no loss due to checking. You can even dry swan size blocks 11" thick. It just takes five years for blocks that big.

I would have some smaller stock separated that will dry sooner. Then some larger stuff that will finish drying while you carve the smaller stuff.
 
Since Schupp has thrown me under the bus I will post on this thread :)..

Missouri linden/bass does carve fine both heads and bodies, hollowing them will lighten them and help further splits. I have mine milled wet 34/4x18/4 giving me an 8"x4" piece of wood to work with when it dries. I have about 300bf of bass that was milled to those specs in Jan 09 that is light and carvable right now. Will be making a 500bf order this Winter to lay back and dry. I would mill it soon, the spalting I have read is due to mildew caused by leaving bark on after felling the tree. I would also suggest anchorseal over other products. the last time I used spar and it took A LOT of applications to seal the ends. There is a kiln in Weston Mo. that will do cusom kilning at $.50bf they charge $250 minimum or 500bf if you need wood quickly this year that may be your best option. I have used them with excellent results in the past and they are good folks to deal with. one other option you have is gathering some cottonwood driftwood off of the banks of the Mighty Mo., mill it and let it dry for a year and carve.

You are more than welcome to come and join us when we carve or come down and see how I carve a bird, my birds are pretty simple.
 
Thanks again for all the help! I just ordered a gallon of anchor seal from the website, I like the sounds of its performance versus paint. A friend and fellow "gonna be" carver cut the first tree down on Friday, about 36" diameter. Got a 10' section dragged out near the road so that I can come back with a trailer and get it home. I imagine I need to cut a fresh slice off the ends to apply the anchorseal once it gets here. I never thought of using cottonwood, I have very bad childhood memories of me, my brother, a splitting maul and several wedges, and huge cottonwoods from people's yards that my dad would haul home. We would go around and around the outside of the huge rounds whittling off firewood size chunks at a time. It was not good firewood but it was free and my dad never turned down anything free. Tom, I appreciate the invite to see how a pro does it. My in laws live in Winston (that is where the mill and other trees are) and I am down there quite often. The next time you have a carving gathering I would love to stop by and learn, could you send me a PM before your next session? On a side note I have a friend that works near Kearney, he is a foreman at the cabinet shop ( Precision Hardwoods I think). I am going to look up that Wildfowl Carving back issue, thanks again for all the sage advice.
 
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